Apparatus for lubrication



Nov. 21, 1939. H, G KlNDER 2,180,875

APPARATUS FOR LUBRICATION Filed Sept. 11, 1937 2 m I 7 fnz/enz/ ar' A w 1 Br} I FEM his 4151526567" l 4 4/ Patented Nov. 21, 1939 "UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR LUBRIoATIorI Halsey G. Kinder, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to Macwhyte Company, Kenosha," Wis., a. corporation of Illinois Application' september 11, 1937, Serial No. 163,366

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for applying lubricant to strands of a rope during manufacture. It has for oneobject to provide meansfor and a method of lubrieating the strands of a wire rope during manufacture so that when finally twisted together the strands are lubricated and carry with themselves and enclose lubricant.

Another object is to provide such a means adapted forthe application, while cold, of a lubricant of extremely stiff and viscous qualities, which under. ordinary conditions and by'ordinary means could not be applied mechanically with convenience. The word cold in this connection is to be understood as meaning in general the room temperatures which may prevail in rope making plants. .In one sense, such temperatures cannot be considered cold. The word as used means that no particular heating steps have been applied to the lubricant. The invention is of particular importance in connection with the application of lubricant which at this ordinary cold or room temperature does not flow and cannot be readily poured or pumped upon the wire strands.

Other objects will appear from time to time in the course of the specification andclaims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing, wherein? Figure Us a vertical sectional View of one form of thedevice;

Figure 21s a plan View with parts in section at line 2-2 'of Figure 1; and

. "Figure 3 is a vertical sectional detail taken on line 3-3 of Figure l. a

- Like partsare indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawing.

The apparatus of the invention as illustrated is designed to feed vertically upward. This is not essential and the device might be arranged to feed laterally, horizontally, or at an angle to the horizontal. Where that is done, an angular drive might be required, but it is within the contemplation of thein vention tofeed grease or lubricant of the type indicated in any direction in which it is needed.

Whilethe invention is shown as applied to the so-called horizontal rope machine, as shownin Figure 3, into which the'rope is formed horizontally, it might equally well be applied to a mechanism in which the rope is formed vertically.

In the form shown, I is the foundation or base plate of any desired design. Upon this is secured 56 a base member 2 which forms the bottom of the lubricant container. Portions 3 project downwardly from the base 2 and serve as bearings for the drive shaft 4. At its outer end the drive shaft 4 carries a gear 5 which meshes with the; pinion 6 on a shaft 1 of a motor 8. .This motor 5 may be supported on the. member 1 and serves as a means for drivi ng the shaft l and also through it for driving the lubricant feed.

. Theshaft 4 carries secured to it a'pinion 9 which meshes with a gear ID on a shaft H which 10 passes through a suitable perforation in the base member 2 and may also have an antifriction bearing l2,,which as'here shown, is -.a thrust bearing. a

. Secured-to the shaft H isa mem'ber l3 to which 15 aresecured a plurality. of agitator arms or rods l4, each of. which may have its outward end forwardly bent. in the;directi.on of its rotation as at I 5, asshown in Figure 2. The direction'of ro- K tation of the agitator is indicated by the arrow in g that figure. Secured to the member. I3 is a feed screw Hi. This screw is enclosed within a tube 11 which, ismounted within and preferably secured to a ringor hub. l8from which a plurality of arms .l9 project laterally and .join anouter or 25 ring portion..20.

The side walls of thelubricant container are formed by a member 2| which, may in effect be a tube, the upper end of which is received against the shoulder 22 in the member 20, the lower edge 3 of which. is received against the shoulder 23 in the memberZ. Bolts or screws v24 serve to hold the partsinassembled position, but adjustment is possible by loosening the bolts .and rotating the ring or tube 21. Secured by welding or other- 35 wiseto' the upper edge'ofthe tubular portion 2| .is a p-an25 which, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, maybe enlarged atone side so as tohave a projecting portion. 26.v The one advantage of this projecting portion is that it furnishes a convenient means for -repl-enishing thesupply of lubricant within the pan as a whole, the projecting portion extending beyondv the rope and beyond adjacent machine parts so thattheoperator can conveniently place lubricant in the pan. 4

,Sli d'ably androtatably, mounted about the tube I1 is a second tube 21. This tube fits preferably snugly about the tube I1 and may be relatively I flattened-toward its. upper end, as shown in Figures. 1 and 3 at 28. It is preferably cut away 50 partially as at .29 to permit the strands 30 which are being formed intoa rope 3! to .pass through the-upper, end of the tube and thus to be largely surrounded by] the .tube. Along one side the tube 21 may be providedwith a' by-pass slot 32 as shown in Figure 3. This slot is preferably of the same diameter as the by-pass hole 33 shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Positioned about the tube 2'! and in contact with it is a third tube which may be provided with a handle 35. The tube is also slotted as at 36, as shown in Figure 3.

By means of the handle 35, the tubes 2'! and 3d may be raised together, thus adjusting the position of the cut-away portion 29 into the desired height to accommodate it to the particular machine or rope through which it is used. The tube 34 may also be rotated by the handle 35 and in normal position it would be rotated so r that the slot 35 is not in line with the opening 33, and thus escape of lubricant from the interior of the tube is prevented. As shown in Figure 3,

the slots 32 and 35 are in line with the opening 33 and lubricant could escape. This will ordinarily not be the condition during operation. They are shown in use in Figure 3 for purposes of simplicity and to avoid confusion, although the mechanism is otherwise shown in the condition which it occupies when in operation, that is to say, when feeding lubricant to the strands of the rope during the manufacture.

In Figure 3 the mechanism is shown as in operation except for the position of the slots 32 and 36 as just mentioned. While the invention is not limited to association with any particular rope machine or method, as shown in Figure 3, which will serve for one illustration of the use of the invention, the wire strands 3E! are being brought together at approximately the point 31 where they enter a forming die 38. This die may be of any suitable form, its details forming no essential part of the invention. It is carried in a frame member 39 that is preferably or movably held in position by .a locking and adjusting screw 40 upon which a thumb nut 4| may be mounted.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

Before use, the machine of course is positioned upon or adjacent to a rope making machine and the angle or direction of the feed is adjusted suitably for the particular rope machine. The feed may thus be vertical or horizontal or at any angle. If, the feed is horizontal, a slightly modified form for pan or lubricant container would be necessary. After the adjustment of the mechanism of the present invention to the rope machine has been made, the tubes may be raisedor lowered to bring the cut-away portion 29 in exactly the proper position with respect to the strands of wire. The drive for the screw it is then set in operation and lubricant within the pan and container is forced upwardly by the screw and discharged into the flattened portion 28 of the tube and moves upwardly due to the cut-away portion 29 through which the strands of the wire rope are passing and these strands are thus caused to pass through a constantly rising positively driven column of lubricant, and are thus lubricated as they pass into the rope and lubricant is carried by them and with them into the rope. The portions of the tube which surround the cut-away portions 29 sufficiently retain and compact the lubricant to hold it together so as to produce the proper degree of concentration at the point where lubricant and wires come in contact with each other. The lubricant which is not carried away by the wires spills or falls over and back into the pan 25 or the lower portion of the container 2|.

During the normal operation of the device, the agitators l4 rotate with the screw [6 and serve to keep the lubricant in motion and also serve to prevent any collection or unequal distribution of the lubricant within the container. In particular, if the lubricant within the container is fairly reduced in supply, the agitators maintain an equal distribution to maintain constant and equal action of the screw I6 in steadily feeding the lubricant to the point of use.

Sometimes it is desirable to stop the feed of lubricant to the rope for a brief interval and that may be done by moving the outer tube 34 into the position shown in Figure 3 so that the slot tance to the cut-away portion 29 and to the wire strands passing through it. While no particular means is shown for holding the tubes in any vertical or rotational position of adjustment, it is obvious that such a mechanism may be used in a variety of details and its use is within the contemplation of the present invention.

I claim:

1. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw, and a plurality of agitator members, means for rotating said agitators and said screw, and a guide tube positioned about said screw and partially within said container, said screw extending becontainer; and a second tube positioned about said first tube and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tube, said first tube provided with a laterally faced opening, said second tube provided with a longitudinally aligned slot, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly beyond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide .a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass.

2. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw, and a plurality of agitator members, means for rotating said agitators and said screw, and a guide tube position-ed about said screw and partially within said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second tube positioned about said first tube and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tube, said first tube provided with a laterally-faced opening, said second tube provided with a longitudinally aligned slot, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly'beyond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass, and a third tube positioned about said second tube and provided with an axially aligned slot. 7

3. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point extending upwardly beyond said first tube, and

being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass, said second tube being slotted, and a third tube positioned about said second tube said third tube being slotted, and means on said third tube for raising said second and third tubes to effect elongation of the total guide tube.

4. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw, and a plurality of agitator members, means for rotating said agitators and said screw, and a guide tube positioned about said screw and partially within said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second tube positioned about said first tube and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tuba-said first tube provided with a laterally faced opening, said second tube provided with a longitudinally aligned slot, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly beyond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass, and a third tube positioned about said second tube and provided with an axially aligned slot, and means on said third tube for raising said second and third tubes and for rotating said third tube with respect to said first tube to bring the slot in said third tube into and out of alignment with the lateral opening in said first tube.

5. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw extending to a point adjacent the bottom of said container, and a plurality of agitator members mounted in fixed relation with said screw, means for rotating said agitators and said screw in unison, and a laterally perforated guide tube positioned about said screw partially within and partially without said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second tube positioned about said first tube said second tube being slotted and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tube, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly beyond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass.

6. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, an open-topped containenand means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw extending to a point adjacent the bottom of said container, and a plurality of agitator members mounted in fixed relation with said screw, means for rotating said agitators and said screw in unison, the agitators comprising radially positioned rod-like members having their outer ends bent to face in the direction of their rotation, and a laterally perforated guide tube positioned about said screw partially within and partially without said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second'tube positioned about said first tube said second tube being slotted and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tube, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly beyond said container and beyond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass.

7. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, a container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw extending to a point adjacent the bottom of said container, and a plurality of agitator members, means for rotating said agitators and said screw, the agitators comprising radially positioned rod-like members, and a guide tube positioned about said screw and partially within said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second tube positioned about said first tube and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with'respect to said first tube, said first tube provided with a laterally faced opening, said second tube provided with a longitudinally aligned slot, the upper end of said second tube extending upwardly be yond said first tube, and being partially cut away to provide a lubricant supplying zone through which work pieces may pass, and a third tube positioned about said second tube and provided with an axially aligned slot.

8. In combination in a lubricant applying apparatus, an open-topped container, and means for positively feeding lubricant from said container to a point of use, said means comprising a screw extending to a point adjacent the bottom of said container, and a plurality of agitator members mounted in fixed relation with said screw, means for rotating said agitators and said screw in unison, the agitators comprising radially positioned rod-like members having their outer ends bent to face in the direction of their rotation, and a guide tube positioned about said screw and partially within said container, said screw extending beyond the inner end of said tube directly into said container, and a second tube positioned about said first tube and mounted for axial and rotational adjustment with respect to said first tube, said first tube provided with a laterally faced opening, said second tube provided with a longitudinally aligned slot, the 

